The president of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), Algerian head of state Abdelaziz Bouteflika, urged the United Nations on Monday to act to "stop the slaughter" in the Horn of Africa.

"I urge you, the United Nations and the entire international community to ... do everything possible to stop the slaughter under way between Ethiopia and Eritrea," Bouteflika said in a message to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan.

"It's a moral and political duty ... a response that Africa, already ravaged by so many conflicts and tragedies, has a right to expect from the rest of the international community in the name of universal solidarity for peace."

He added: "The disturbing reports reaching all of us show that now it is a matter of a large-scale armed conflict ... causing incomparable loss of human life and ... threatening the security and stability of the entire Horn of Africa."

The OAU chief denounced the "silence of the international community," which he said further encouraged the fighting, which resumed on May 12 after a lull of several months.

Bouteflika's special envoy Ahmed Ouyahia is in the Horn region as well as mediators from the European Union and Libya.

Both Ethiopia and Eritrea have agreed in principle to an OAU-brokered peace plan, but "proximity talks" here broke down on May 5 over technical aspects of the deal -- ALGIERS, (AFP).